Sennheiser RS 175 wireless TV headphones

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There are so many reasons you’d want to listen to the TV with headphones; you don’t want to wake the kids or your spouse if you’re watching a movie late at night, you don’t want to be distracted by those same family members… maybe you have noisy neighbours who are loud talkers and just want to tune them out, or your significant other is out in the yard again with the hedge trimmer running. Not to mention that if you’re hard of hearing, you might need a little more direct sound.
If you’ve done any research into getting headphones connected to your TV you know it’s not simple. Most TVs have a headphone jack, but come on… no one wants to run a cable 10 feet from the flat screen to the sofa. And most headphones are Bluetooth, and not a lot of TVs have Bluetooth (though you could hack something together with a Bluetooth transmitter, but I digress).
The easiest way to get direct to your ears audio from your TV is with a pair of headphones dedicated to this purpose. Sennheiser RS 175 is a specialty pair of headphones that’s designed to work perfectly with your TV.
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What’s in the box?
Inside the package is:
Headphones
Rechargeable Batteries
Base Station
Audio cables; optical & analogue
Power cable
Set up
To get these headphones set up you’ll need to connect the base station to your TV, receiver, cable box, sound bar or streaming device.
There’s two ways to connect the base station; with a digital optical audio cable if your devices are newer, or using the analogue 3.5mm jack. As I’m connecting to an older TV, I elected to use the Aux cable. It’s as simple as plugging it into the back of the base station, then connecting it to the TV.
Once connected there’s a small switch on the back you need to flip to choose which type of cable you’re using to connect. Then, turn the power on to the headphones.
It’s possible to connect two sets of headphones to the transmitter if you want to use more than one set, too.
Sound Quality
Let’s get straight to the heart; how do the Sennheiser RS 175 sound? Big, bold and powerful, to put it in a nutshell. The headphones deliver a rich, all-encompassing sound. It’s easy to hear things like birds chirping outside, or the distant trickle of a fountain in an episode of Bosch on Amazon Prime. Voices sound clear and dialogue cuts through well.
Music in these headphones (mainly from movies or TV themes) is luscious and sounds great. Listening to music videos is a delight. The audio is perfectly balanced and the sound fills your head in the best possible way. The bass is really great too; not too jaw-rattling, but decently deep and vibrational.
Lag when watching video?
I tested these headphones out with a variety of content; mainly streaming TV like Netflix, TH-cam, and Apple TV content like movies and music videos. I can say there’s no lag of any kind when watching content, as there can be when using Bluetooth headphones to watch videos on a smartphone.
Battery life & Charging
These headphones take forever to charge up.
Charging after the first power-up takes about eight and a half hours. All day to recharge? Man, that seems excessive in this world of 15 minute fast charging and gadgets that are ready to go in an hour.
Range & dropouts?
When I was using the Sennheiser RS 175s I most often used them directly in front of the TV, at a distance of about 10 feet. There were zero dropouts during my test period when using them like this. I tried getting up and walking around my main floor while wearing the headphones and again, there were no dropouts or breakup.
Other uses? Phones, tablet, computer?
You might be wondering if you can use these headphones with other devices. The short answer is no. There’s no Bluetooth in these headphones, which is what you need to pair with most smartphones or tablets. There’s also no headphone jack to connect them hard-wired. These are dedicated to TV and video viewing.
Overall review
If you want headphones connected to your TV, these are an outstanding choice. They sound great, they’re easy to set up and they have a long lasting battery.
Downsides? The charging time takes forever. I also found it difficult to find a convenient place to stash the base station while still keeping it plugged in to AC and the audio connection. I ended up with it awkwardly wedged beside my TV during my test period.
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These headphones are also quite pricey. At about $379CAD they are an investment, especially considering they are tied to your TV and your TV only.
Overall if you’re looking for durable, comfortable and reliable headphones for your TV, you’ll love the Sennheiser RS 175s.